Tangentially P-related...the first photograph was of a picture!

[Mark Kohut]

Can be found at Daily Dish (and elsewhere). 


1 
First Photograph
1825
This photograph was only discovered in 2002 and is now known to be the very first permanent photograph ever taken by Nicéphore Niépce - the father of photography. It is an image of an engraving of a man walking a horse and it was made using a technique known as heliogravure. The method involves a piece of copper covered with light sensitive bitumen. This metal plate is exposed to light and creates an image which is then transferred to paper. The image has been declared a national treasure by the French government and it sold for $392,000 at auction to the French National Library.